


Justice League film alternate Act III (League of Nations draft)

by Nerdinator2029



Category: DC Cinematic Universe, DC Comics, DCEU, DCU (Movies), Justice League (2017)
Genre: Gen, script
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-14 15:56:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13593465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerdinator2029/pseuds/Nerdinator2029
Summary: Addressing most major issues with the film and repairing continuity.





	Justice League film alternate Act III (League of Nations draft)

**Author's Note:**

> Act I and II recap:
> 
> In the wake of Superman’s death, Batman travels the globe attempting to recruit metahumans to resist an impending extraterrestrial attack. His fears are confirmed by the arrival of the alien warlord Steppenwolf, who seeks to transform earth into the hellscape of his homeworld via the recovery of three alien “mother boxes” hidden on earth.
> 
> Having formed the team of Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman, Batman attempts the resurrection of Superman using a mother box and the Kryptonian ship’s birthing chamber. The team is successful, but the box infects Superman’s mind. Disoriented, he fights the team and is about to kill Batman when Lois talks him down. As they fly away together, Steppenwolf claims the third and last Mother Box.

JUSTICE LEAGUE 

ACT III "League of Nations" 

  
FADE IN:

EXT. MARKOVBURG - DAY.

SUPER: Markovia, Western Europe.

The capital city of Markovia exudes history and royalty, adorned with baroque palaces and cathedrals. A small royal motorcade makes its way along a beautiful avenue.

  
INT. STATE CAR - DAY.

The KING OF MARKOVIA is en route to an official function with his teenage son BRION. Though both are dressed for the occasion, the King carries himself with dignity while Brion sprawls across his seat reading his speech from a tablet. The back of the DRIVER is visible through a window.

BRION  
The Earth is everything to us. It’s all we have. Our world gives us life and today, it gives us power.  
Blah blah blah clean energy, future of Markovia, blah blah declare this Geo-thermal plant open. Do people really care about this stuff?

KING  
Perhaps they will, If their royal family does.

  
EXT. MARKOVBURG OVERPASS - DAY.

A bird flits over Markovburg. As it alights on the rail of an overpass we see that it is artificial. When the King’s car approaches the bird DETONATES with a bright blue pulse.

  
INT. STATE CAR - DAY.

Brion’s tablet goes dark.

BRION  
What...?

  
EXT. MARKOVBURG OVERPASS - DAY.

The motorcade slows to a stop on the overpass. A ROYAL GUARD dismounts from his bike, drawing a pistol and speaking into his lapel.

GUARD  
Off plan, possible attack! Move to… (beat) Comms are down!  


  
INT. STATE CAR - DAY.

Brion panics and scrabbles at the door.

BRION  
We have to get out of here!  


  
The King stops him.  


KING  
And run out into the open? That’s the last thing we should do. Sit tight, this car can take an IED.  


  
EXT. MARKOVBURG OVERPASS - DAY.

A glowing plasma blade thrusts up from beneath the overpass. It cuts through the road around the car, and the foot of a guard in the wrong place. The guards try to look over the side of the overpass, but can’t see anything.  
The section of road buckles, and the state car drops neatly into a large truck beneath the overpass. Smoke grenades are thrown up through the hole as the truck drives away with its captives.

  
INT. STATE CAR - DAY.

The plasma blade thrusts down through the car’s armored roof, drawing a long cut as if it were butter. Two sections of roof are peeled back by RAVAN, a middle eastern man wearing a plated exoskeleton across his chest and arms. Standing atop the car is RASTAM, goateed leader of the group, wielding the plasma scimitar.

The driver fires pistol shots through the car’s roof at him. Ravan lifts a huge metal sledgehammer and slams it down onto the state car’s cab, caving it in. The pistol falls silent.

RASTAM  
Greetings from Quarac, your majesty!  


He jumps down into the car and sits beside the King. Brion scrambles away from the scimitar, flattening himself against the opposite wall. Ravan stands guard above them, shifting his feet with the motion of the truck.

RASTAM  
I’d offer the personal greetings of the Sultan, but you may have heard that he’s dead.  


KING  
That’s what this is about? You think Markovia was involved? I heard he was assassinated by mercenaries, American criminals. We had nothing to do with that.  


RASTAM  
That is not for you to decide. The tribunal of Quarac will determine the truth.  


BRION  
They’re gonna kill us!  


RAVAN  
(laughs) No, little prince. Not today, at least. You and your father are coming for a ride in our helicopter.  


(Beat)

Behind him, a smoking helicopter spins to the ground and explodes. The truck slows and stops.

RASTAM  
(To King)  
It would seem that your air force is commendable.  


KING  
They’re not that good.  


RAVAN  
(looking around)  
No gunfire. No rockets. Someone’s coming.  


BRION  
Gonna die. Gonna die.  


A shadow flashes over him.

KING  
Have a little hope.  


RAVAN  
Wait.  


He moves out of sight, hefting the hammer. Rastam lifts the scimitar.

RASTAM  
We’ve planned for a hostage contingency, your majesty, so I don’t advise thinking about-  


Pieces of Ravan’s exoskeleton rain into the car.  
Rastam turns off the scimitar and drops it, raising his hands. Brion lifts his head, allowing himself to hope for the first time.

RASTAM  
OK, we can talk-  


A claw grips Rastam and throws him shrieking out of the car. A face appears, not a hero but a hideous PARADEMON. It studies a holographic image of the King projected from its wrist, then grabs him and carries him into the sky.

BRION  
FATHER!  


  
INT. DAILY PLANET NEWSROOM - DAY.

PERRY WHITE storms past cubicles and into the Planet’s lunch room, where a crowd of employees have gathered around a TV. He is met at the door by JENNY OLSEN.

PERRY  
Is Lang back in Washington yet?  


JENNY  
landed, not deplaned.  


PERRY  
Why the hell not?  


JENNY  
You said coach, so-  


PERRY  
And where’s Lane?  


JENNY  
Memorial Park, sir. Apparently there’s also been a Superman sighting.  


PERRY  
Super-? Not now. Washington’s the story. This is global and we’re getting scooped by nobodies!  


TIGHT ON TV.

IRIS WEST stands in front of the White House giving a breaking news report with the title “Attack on Washington: President taken”.

IRIS  
Iris West in Washington for Central City News. Several Secret Service members are dead and the President has been abducted in one of several simultaneous attacks around the world.  


The TV shows grainy phone footage of a gun battle and someone being dragged into the air by parademons.

IRIS  
Information is still coming in but it appears the leaders of China, India and at least six other nations have been taken by the same flying creatures that have been sighted over the last few days. A few minutes ago, General Swanwick had this to say.  


GENERAL SWANWICK appears surrounded by microphones.

SWANWICK  
We know where they have been taken, and we have a battle group in the region. We are working with other nations to mobilise a joint armed response.  


CUT TO: Perry and Jenny.

PERRY  
Why would they want the President?  


JENNY  
Half of _us_ don’t want the President.  


PERRY  
We need some expert heads on this.  


JENNY  
Who?  


PERRY  
Someone who sounds like they know about flying... things. Dorothy and the Tin Man, I don’t know. Just get them! I want reactions around the world, stock market, mom and pop witnesses and that science guy. And somebody find Lane!  


EXT. KENT FARM - DAY.

SUPERMAN floats down to the corn fields of the Kent farm with LOIS LANE in his arms. He sets her down gently, staring into space.

LOIS  
Clark?  


(Beat)

LOIS  
Clark? Are you… you?  


CLARK  
Lo?  


They embrace.

LOIS  
Oh god, I’ve missed you.  


CLARK  
It was taking me over. It used my memories, it was… driving me. I could have killed people.  


LOIS  
You didn’t.  


CLARK  
I didn’t feel part of the world. It wanted me to bring… an apocalypse.  


LOIS  
Why didn’t you?  


CLARK  
I saw you. Swam toward you.  


LOIS  
Clark, I’m not your inner strength or your conscience. You’re not just strong on the outside.  


CLARK  
You bring me back to earth.  


Lois pulls down a lock of his hair into a curl.

LOIS  
You’re not Superman because you can beat everyone. You’re Superman because you don’t beat everyone. Pulling your punches so you don’t hurt a gunman, or holding a baby with hands that can crush a mountain. You’ve controlled yourself your whole life, so this alien box couldn’t control you either. You beat it.  


CLARK  
There were people, like me. They tried to hurt me.  


LOIS  
They tried to stop you. Help you. I think they were holding back too.  


Clark moves away, looking up. He can barely stand.

CLARK  
I have to-  


LOIS  
No, Clark. You have to rest. You were _dead_. You have to smell the hay and feel the grass with your toes and know who you are. Be sure this thing is gone.  


Clark sags to his knees.

LOIS  
You pushed yourself too far too soon fighting those people, but they’re protectors too. The world isn’t on your shoulders anymore, Clark. You have friends now. This time, the one you have to save is you.  


The farmhouse light comes on.  


  
INT. BATCAVE - DAY

BATMAN, WONDER WOMAN, FLASH, CYBORG, AQUAMAN and ALFRED descend into the cave into an elevator.

AQUAMAN  
Kind of a shock having a bunch of costumed weirdos turning up at the door again, huh?  


ALFRED  
Oh, you have no idea.  


FLASH  
So we can just get that box and zap stuff back to life? Because I had a puppy that-  


CYBORG  
No. Superman’s cells were fused with something called a codex, like an instruction manual for Kryptonian DNA. It won’t work again. The box and the birthing chamber consumed it.  


BATMAN  
That’s why we didn’t get another Doomsday.  


Aquaman  
What we got wasn’t much better. We can’t count on Superman, we’re on our own.  


WONDER WOMAN  
He’ll help us. He’ll return another time.  


AQUAMAN  
How do you know?  


WONDER WOMAN  
Because that’s who he is.  


CYBORG projects a 3D map of the world on the bench in front of them.

CYBORG  
Not hard to find where Steppenwolf went. His soldiers have hit Washington, New Delhi, Beijing, all over. Presidents, Chancellors, Kings… most of them were taken into those tubes, but two fliers were tracked on radar to here, in northern Ukraine.  


ALFRED  
The nuclear accident site from the eighties.  


FLASH  
Why there?  


AQUAMAN  
Maybe it feels like home.  


WONDER WOMAN  
It will be home, once those boxes come together.  


CYBORG  
Russians sent in a force that didn’t last an hour, so they started listening to the offers of other nations. Military chatter is granting air corridors, planning land access, negotiating chain of command.  


ALFRED  
Nothing sets aside one’s differences like the end of the world.  


WONDER WOMAN  
It won’t help. Steppenwolf has conquered many worlds. They’re outgunned.  


BATMAN  
Then they’re our diversion. We need to get to those Mother Boxes.  


CYBORG  
Maybe I can interface with them. Talk them down.  


WONDER WOMAN  
They have had one purpose for thousands of years. Their minds cannot be changed.  


AQUAMAN  
(To Cyborg)  
Maybe they can change yours.  


CYBORG  
You got a better idea? Smash them?  


AQUAMAN  
Maybe, but one of those boxes could handle the crush depth of a nuclear sub with no problem.  


BATMAN  
So can you. The boxes need to touch, so if you can’t break them, keep them apart.  


WONDER WOMAN  
This beast has many heads. We stop the boxes, we save our statesmen, we halt an army, and we drive Steppenwolf’s injustice from the earth.  


AQUAMAN  
(whispers to Flash)  
I love it when she talks all warrior princess.  


WONDER WOMAN  
If we fail our world is lost and our people will be processed into his servants, conquering other worlds for him in a living death.  


FLASH  
(whispers to Aquaman)  
Scares the shit outa me.  


BATMAN  
Plan while we’re in the air. If we don’t start prepping the ship now, a lot of soldiers are going to die.  


INT. HELICOPTER COCKPIT - DAY

A flight of helicopters passes over the Ukrainian coast, some of them sling-loading tanks. They pass a convoy of trucks bearing the japanese flag. A PILOT talks into his headset.

PILOT  
Highfather C3I, this is Orion. Countersigns accepted, ETA 1400 hours.  


  
INT. MILITARY CONTROL ROOM - DAY

General Swanwick paces nervously behind CARRIE FERRIS and others at the comm station.

FERRIS  
Copy that, Orion. Watch that crosswind. You drift off that path and we add an international incident to our problems.  


SWANWICK  
Our hands are tied enough as it is. Even if we get through this, we have so many international VIPs in there that one stray bullet could start a war. Jets and drones are off the table. We need naked eyes on, and hope everyone else’s trigger discipline is as good as ours.  


FERRIS  
Sir, we have so many different national forces converging on the same AO and many of us don’t even speak the same language. Is this really gonna work?  


SWANWICK  
It’s worked before, when it had to.  


  
INT. BATCAVE - DAY

Batman connects hoses to the Flying Fox. Alfred checks diagnostics on a computer.

ALFRED  
It’s good to see you as a leader again.  


BATMAN  
I think Diana is more-  


ALFRED  
It softens you.  


BATMAN  
Softens?  


ALFRED  
When was the last time the fight-winning gadget you pulled out was your opponent’s girlfriend?  


BATMAN  
Every puzzle has a key. Superman was angry, so he wasn’t thinking clearly. I snapped him out of it.  


ALFRED  
Sounds like someone I know. You’re… you again. What did it for you?  


BATMAN  
Superman’s sacrifice inspired a lot of people.  


ALFRED  
But not you. Oh, you rediscovered your humanity when you discovered his, but that won't turn around a man who’s spent their life encased in darkness. It was something else, wasn’t it?  


BATMAN  
The night I took down that assassin, Deadshot. He went for deadly force. I did too.  


ALFRED  
But you didn’t kill him.  


BATMAN  
No. His daughter stepped between us, and I…  


ALFRED  
You finally realised what you’d become. It was you, now. You were the man in the alley about to make a child an orphan.  


BATMAN  
I would have. I’ve killed before.  


ALFRED  
There’s a difference between defending yourself from anti-aircraft fire and being a face-to-face killer. You stopped yourself.  


BATMAN  
Some say I’m no better than them.  


  
Alfred snaps a console shut.

ALFRED  
Evil men try to control others. Good men try to control themselves. Now, which car would you like on board?  


Batman smiles.  


  
EXT. HIGH ALTITUDE - DAY

The Flying Fox soars through the upper atmosphere. Clouds are far below.

INT. FLYING FOX COCKPIT - DAY

Cyborg stands immobile in the middle of the cockpit as the control sticks move of their own accord. On the console is a multifaceted silver box with a red light, like Cyborg’s eye. Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Aquaman check their equipment.

AQUAMAN  
This thing can cross half the globe in less than an hour?  


FLASH  
Meh.  


BATMAN  
ICBMs have done it for decades.  


AQUAMAN  
Yeah, but they don’t have to land.  


WONDER WOMAN  
What else can it do? Cloak?  


BATMAN  
Not yet. We have to assume they know we’re coming.  
(To Flash)  
Are you ready now, to do battle?  


Flash grins and adopts a fighting pose.

FLASH  
Hyaa!  


AQUAMAN  
You go, champ. Looking badass.  


FLASH  
Thanks, I sewed this myself.  


Batman adjusts Flash’s pose.

BATMAN  
Thumbs on the outside or you’ll break them. Straighten the fist. contact with these knuckles. Don’t overextend.  


FLASH  
If I’d known all this was gonna happen I would have hit the gym, put on some mass.  


BATMAN  
There doesn’t need to be much mass in a bullet.  


FLASH  
I heard you can dodge bullets. Are you that fast?  


BATMAN  
If you can read movements, anticipate them, redirect them, you don’t have to be.  


CYBORG  
Twenty three minutes out. International forces have made contact. It’s not going well.  


WONDER WOMAN  
Should we go through our strategy again? Does everyone understand their role?  


AQUAMAN  
Kick ass. Got it.  


FLASH  
Just make sure it’s the right ass. Cause there are a lot of asses down there and some of those asses are ours. Keep an eye out for the President’s ass. I’m new at this.  


  
INT. MILITARY CONTROL ROOM - DAY

General Swanwick speaks to a screen containing the image of COLONEL NICHOLS. A battle rages behind the Colonel.

NICHOLS  
Conventional land-based tactics are useless, General. Many of these things fly, they can maneuver in units anywhere. Cohesion with the other national forces is breaking down.  


SWANWICK  
You have to push through, Colonel. If we don’t stop them here we won’t stop them at all.  


NICHOLS  
This is without precedent, General. They’re clearly battle tested, and they have force multipliers we’ve never seen. This fight may be beyond our capabilities.  


EXT. REACTOR TOWER - DAY.

The reactor tower is encrusted with alien growth. A parademon perches atop it, surveying a vast battle below. Tanks are lit up with energy beams. Helicopters are swarmed with flying parademons and spiral to destruction.  
The parademon swoops down inside the reactor, to where the growths form a cluster of platforms. On one platform, some twenty feet across, kneels the group of eight WORLD LEADERS, including the Markovian King, with nowhere to go. They are at the chest height of STEPPENWOLF, standing on an adjacent platform. Nearby, three hulking GUARDIAN PARADEMONS flank the three mother boxes. The boxes slowly move together and energy dances between them, configuring.

STEPPENWOLF  
Diplomats. Merchants. Scholars. Not a warrior among you, and yet you hold the thrones of your world. Conquest of your species is deserved. It is justice.  
As the Unity begins, it will be baptised with the blood of undeserving kings. Then this world will know that there is but one throne, and all other thrones shall not stand before it.  


He moves toward the boxes. The GUARDIAN PARADEMONS prostrate themselves before them, wings splayed. Steppenwolf lays his axe at his feet and raises his arms to the heavens.

STEPPENWOLF  
Galez Darkseid el tave aukotis iv sis visuom's vele, ir graft zhol kia tave esencija iv Apokalips!  


The mother boxes are almost touching. The energy increases, as if excited. The boxes touch.

EXT. GROUND BATTLE - DAY.

A veined purple force field rises slowly from the ground around the reactor buildings. Energy beams and missiles are absorbed into it, leaving blood-red stains. The majority of the parademon army is inside the field, having anticipated it. Humans luckless enough to be with them are quickly overrun. A tank FIRES a heavy shell into the field to no effect.  
The force field rises into the sky, converging toward the sky above the reactor. Two Indian Army soldiers, SOLDIER #1 and SOLDIER #2, turn to each other.

SOLDIER #1 (subtitled)  
We’re screwed now.  


SOLDIER #2 (subtitled)  
Look! Up in the sky!  


The armies of the world look up. Thousands of parademons turn their eyes skyward to the Flying Fox zooming in. It shoots two parademons out of the sky, threads the closing gap in the force field and flares to a halt at the top of the reactor tower. Batman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman spring from the ramp onto a platform manned by a group of guards.  
Batman thumbs a button on his utility belt that emits a high-pitched buzz. The guards shriek as he engages them.

BATMAN  
Go! Go!  


Wonder Woman and Aquaman drop inside the tower. The parademon army surges toward the reactor. The Flying Fox drops to ground level in front of them.  


EXT. REACTOR GROUNDS - DAY

CYBORG  
Goal line play. Clear me some space.  


Flash blurs from the ramp and punches all the parademons around the Flying Fox.

FLASH  
HyaaHyaaHyaaHyaaHyaaHyaaHyaaHyaaHyaa!  


He crackles to a stop. Cyborg steps from the ramp, his arm transforming into a sonic cannon.

FLASH  
Great, now it’s just several thousand against two.  


CYBORG  
Only if you count me as one.  


Behind him, three different batmobiles ROAR from the ramp, each adorned with a multifaceted silver box, red light glowing. They are followed by a small group of bat-drones. The machines lay down smoke and fire weapons at the parademons as the Flying Fox lifts to join the fight.  


INT. REACTOR - DAY.

The Guardian Parademons stand around the mother boxes, raising their appendages to the sky in homage. A shimmering haze punches through the platform below the boxes. It strikes the reactor floor below. Cracks of lava appear in the shape of a large omega symbol.

STEPPENWOLF  
In The Unity this world is claimed, and my exile is redeemed.  


He lifts his axe and moves toward the world leaders.

STEPPENWOLF  
And the iniquity of the fathers shall be visited upon the sons.  


The leaders begin to panic, but have nowhere to run. Steppenwolf moves to dispatch them with one great sweep of the axe when Wonder Woman drops from above and catches the mighty blow on her shield.

STEPPENWOLF  
You again?  


WONDER WOMAN  
Always.  


She pushes him back, drops to his larger platform and they trade blows. The Guardian Parademons activate bladed polearms and move to assist when Aquaman lands on one from above, pinning it to the floor. He brawls with the other two.  


EXT. MOBILE COMMAND CENTER - DAY.

The guns of the helpless nations have fallen silent, and an eerie calm lies across the battlefield. Flashes of light and muffled sounds of fighting come from within the shield. Colonel Nichols speaks to a screen containing the image of General Swanwick.

NICHOLS  
Hostile stragglers outside the shield have been neutralised, general. We’re regrouping and tending the wounded. Japanese engineers are trying to find a way beneath the shield, but they’re saying the ground is changing somehow. We have no offensive options at this time.  


  
INT. MILITARY CONTROL ROOM - DAY

General Swanwick speaks to a screen containing the image of Colonel Nichols.

SWANWICK.  
Other nations might, Colonel. Russia’s sharing some good intel. Spitball squad-level tactics with your troops and be ready for when the situation changes. We’ve lost visibility and haven’t identified the unknown friendlies in there.  


Cyborg’s face appears on a screen inset.

CYBORG  
We’re the ones changing the situation.  


SWANWICK  
This is an encrypted military channel. Identify yourself.  


CYBORG  
I’m your quarterback sneak.  


FERRIS  
Sir, something’s happening. Our communications with the other forces are… translating themselves. We’re receiving data on the capabilities of the hostiles.  


CYBORG  
And some of your toys needed a firmware upgrade.  


SWANWICK  
Who are you? Cyber Ops? JSO?  


The symbols of the heroes appear on screen.

CYBORG  
The Big League.  


SWANWICK  
Well, any assistance you can give us, we’ll take it.  


CYBORG  
I was gonna say the same thing to you.  


INT. REACTOR TOWER - DAY.

Steppenwolf and Wonder Woman battle furiously.

STEPPENWOLF  
I bested you before. Why face me again?  


WONDER WOMAN  
Because I’m the distraction.  


Steppenwolf glances to Aquaman, who has defeated the Guardian Parademons.

AQUAMAN  
Wait, I thought I was the distraction?  


Steppenwolf turns back to Wonder Woman, only to find her not there. He glances across to find the world leaders also gone. He looks up.  
Wonder Woman soars upward through the tower, her lasso pulling the entire group of world leaders. Several parademons give chase. Steppenwolf crouches to jump up after her, but the quindent slams through his foot, pinning it to the floor. He screams.

Wonder Woman alights on the platform at the top, now cleared by Batman. The world leaders sprawl roughly beside her. The parademons on their heels appear, and Batman and Wonder Woman engage them. Around them, far beneath, a great battle is raging.  


EXT. REACTOR GROUNDS - DAY.

Flash zips everywhere at once, sending parademons flying. Batmobiles charge through more of them. Cyborg hovers and fires his arm cannon. One of the batmobiles, an early model, is swarmed and torn to pieces.  
A parademon gets the drop on Flash but he grabs its gun and shakes the weapon at super-speed until it falls apart.

FLASH  
There are too many. We can’t beat them all.  


CYBORG  
That’s not the plan. Hostages are in our hands now, it’s evac time.  


The Flying Fox stops firing its guns and lifts toward the top of the tower.

FLASH  
The shield is still there. The boxes are doing their thing.  


CYBORG  
Not for long. We do our job, so the team can do theirs.  


A screaming parademon throws itself into the engine intake of the Flying Fox, detonating itself. The vehicle falls from the sky.

FLASH  
Uh oh.  


TIGHT ON: Flash’s feet. The ground darkens and glowing cracks appear.

INT. REACTOR TOWER - DAY.

Aquaman parries Steppenwolf’s axe. Steppenwolf slices a truck-sized chunk of growth from the wall and it falls heavily onto Aquaman.

STEPPENWOLF  
Can you feel it? Your world is changing. The soil blackens. The very air here grows thick.  


AQUAMAN  
Finally one of you assholes admits it.  


With a mighty heave he throws the weight off him and scoops up the quindent. He feints at Steppenwolf, then throws his weapon at the mother boxes with Atlantean strength. It clangs harmlessly off them to no effect. He runs toward them and strains to break them apart, gritting his teeth as electricity surges through him. He is thrown to the floor.

STEPPENWOLF  
(laughs)  
Nothing on this planet can interrupt The Unity. Accept it. My world and yours will become the same.  


Steppenwolf raises his axe as Wonder Woman plummets from above. This time Steppenwolf catches her. He swats her sword away and violently slams her into the floor until she stays there, unmoving. Aquaman climbs to his feet.

STEPPENWOLF  
Your world must accept that your new gods are stronger than a Lantern, Amazon, Kryptonian. You are no match for me.  


AQUAMAN  
I ain’t asking for a date.  


They fight savagely. Aquaman delivers some hard hits but he too, is defeated and lays motionless.

STEPPENWOLF  
Any more false kings? Any more who think they are stronger than the gods?  


Batman drops from the darkness and alights on the platform. Steppenwolf is astonished.

STEPPENWOLF  
The human? Have you not just seen your betters cast down? Who do you think you are facing?  


BATMAN  
Just another clown in a stupid hat.  


EXT. REACTOR GROUNDS - DAY.

Flash notices parademons are thrown around by his slipstream, so he creates a small tornado to pull them from the sky into the path of a batmobile.  
One of the parademons fires a wide energy net that snares Flash and brings him down, but he is cut free and saved by Cyborg.

FLASH  
So, do we have a new plan?  


CYBORG  
I think we’re improvising.  


He breaks a cannon off the crashed Flying Fox. Wires snake inside it and he lifts it onto his shoulder as a bat-drone crashes behind him.

INT. REACTOR TOWER - DAY.

Batman avoids Steppenwolf’s attacks and unleashes everything in his arsenal. Blinding lights, obscuring smoke, hardening foam, mini grenades. Steppenwolf only grows more and more angry, his movements erratic.

STEPPENWOLF  
Insect! You only delay your death. How can you hope to harm me?  


BATMAN  
Not trying to.  


He drops to the floor. The enraged sweep of Steppenwolf’s great axe passes over his head and smashes through the mother boxes. They explode with a crackling shockwave.

  
EXT. MOBILE COMMAND CENTER - DAY.

The shield dissipates. The nations of the world cheer as they move forward.  


  
INT. MILITARY CONTROL ROOM - DAY

SWANWICK  
This is it, people. All or nothing.  


  
EXT. REACTOR GROUNDS - DAY.

Cyborg collapses to the ground with the destruction of the boxes. Behind him a batmobile slows to a stop and is destroyed. Parademons around him seize the moment, firing at him in unison. Flash arrives an instant before the shots land, speeding Cyborg behind a building. The parademons’ blasts hit each other.

FLASH  
You okay?  


CYBORG  
I’m alright. The boxes made me, but they ain’t me. I’m connected to something more powerful.  


FLASH  
The human mind?  


CYBORG  
I was gonna say The Black Man but yeah, we can go with that.  


  
EXT. MOBILE COMMAND CENTER - DAY.

A titanic battle takes place. Tanks fire overhead to keep the parademons on the ground as the troops move in.  
An energy blast forces the crew out of a tank. There is a red blur, a silver box appears on the tank and it begins to fight without a crew.  
Soldier #1 pops the empty clip from his rifle.

SOLDIER #1 (subtitled)  
I’m out!  


There is a red blur, and a new clip appears in the rifle.

SOLDIER #1 (subtitled)  
Never mind!  


  
INT. MILITARY CONTROL ROOM - DAY

Carrie Ferris reads from a screen and updates General Swanwick.

FERRIS  
Our troops are gaining ground but casualties are mounting. The Markovian National Army has been wiped out. Russian tanks have taken hits but are pushing forward. The Chinese are securing evac of wounded Japanese. The hostiles made a large counterattack in the northeast but it’s being stopped by Korea.  


SWANWICK  
Which one?  


FERRIS  
Both of them.  


SWANWICK  
(studying radar)  
Our nations are moving together, timing their attacks. We have battlespace cohesion.  


CYBORG  
(on screen)  
You’re welcome.  


FERRIS  
India have had to pull back, but our Marines are moving up to support.  


SWANWICK.  
Marines? We couldn’t bring any Marines.  


EXT. MOBILE COMMAND CENTER - DAY.

Soldier #1 holds his ground, firing and clutching wounded Soldier #2. Suddenly a squad of US Marines appears from behind them and charges forward.  
Soldier #1 looks around. Behind them, sitting awkwardly on the ground in the middle of the valley, is a Marine landing craft. A US flag waves from it.

  
INT. REACTOR TOWER - DAY.

The red lava-like glow of the ground fades to nothingness. The Unity is gone.  
Steppenwolf is livid. Batman is running out of tricks, backed onto a platform with his utility belt empty. He kicks up a guardian parademon’s weapon as Steppenwolf charges, driving it into his ankle. Steppenwolf backhands Batman into the wall. Batman tries to grapple gun away but the line is cut by Steppenwolf’s axe. He draws his last batarang.

STEPPENWOLF  
Thousands of years... the blessings of the Mother.. How can.. You are JUST A MAN!  


He swings the great axe for the final blow. It’s stopped by a blue-sleeved arm. It is SUPERMAN, restored in body and spirit. He smiles.

SUPERMAN  
I’ve always thought he was in my league.  


He punches Steppenwolf straight up out of the reactor, speeds past him then punches him back down.  
Steppenwolf climbs to his feet in a crater ringed by the omega symbol. One of his horns is broken. Superman speeds down toward him, but Steppenwolf sidesteps, grabbing his cape and slamming him into the earth.  
Superman rises into the air in shock, touching a finger to his mouth and finding blood.

STEPPENWOLF  
A Kryptonian. Almost a challenge.  


They trade blows through the complex, cutting walls with the axe, burning pipes with heat vision, blowing out windows with the force of the punches.  
Steppenwolf is clearly stronger. When the fight lands Superman back on one of the platforms, his eye is swollen nearly shut. Blood trickles from his mouth.

STEPPENWOLF  
(breathing heavily)  
You are not my equal. You are not a new god. You are not stopping my conquest.  


SUPERMAN  
Here’s more for you. I’m not gonna quit, I’m not letting you take my world.  
(Beat)  
And I’m not alone.  


Above them, Batman injects something into Aquaman’s neck as he helps him to his feet. Aquaman throws Wonder Woman her sword. She looks fierce.

  
EXT. REACTOR GROUNDS - DAY.

The parademons are retreating. A large group have been pushed back to the reactor buildings. An assault breacher vehicle, merged with Cyborg, speeds along the wall like a snow plough. Flash is pushing it, his legs a blur.

CYBORG  
Booyah!  


  
INT. REACTOR TOWER - DAY.

The rest of the League fights Steppenwolf as a team. His axe is knocked from his hand with an exploding batarang, pinned to the wall with the quindent, frozen with super breath, shattered with an amazon sword. 

Steppenwolf fights back but is outclassed. With a strained shout, Wonder Woman finally swings him with the lasso onto a mighty punch from Superman. He flies through the reactor wall.  


  
EXT. REACTOR GROUNDS - DAY.

Steppenwolf lands among the nations of the world with his jaw broken. He tries to stand up only to have his helmet blasted from his head by sonic cannon.  
He staggers to his feet to see his army defeated around him, its survivors fleeing into the distance. Looking down, he finds that he is wearing a donkey-eared onesie sewn from international flags.  
He opens a Boom Tube as Wonder Woman arrives, Cyborg and Flash behind her.

WONDER WOMAN  
To Hades with your dreams of conquest. The spirit of ancient times has not left us. Your armies are scattered, divided. We are in league.  


Batman and Aquaman arrive as Steppenwolf flees into the tube in disgrace.  
Superman, his swollen eye already healing in the sun, flies down from the sky holding the platform of international leaders. Everyone cheers in victory.

SUPERMAN  
This is what the armies of the world should be for.  


WONDER WOMAN  
Unity.  


FADE OUT.  


  
MONTAGE

Superman flies down to the Kent farm, to Lois and MARTHA KENT.  
A copy of The Daily Planet has the headline WORLDS WAR WON: International support for “League of Justice”.  
Superman moves a satellite into orbit. It opens to reveal plants growing.  
The Kryptonian ship is lifted from Metropolis and flown to the Arctic.  
Floodwater surges through houses. Laughing children ride river dolphins to safety with Aquaman.  
Cyborg sits in the stands, openly watching a football game. Fans get autographs and pose for selfies. SILAS STONE watches him from a distance.  
Wonder Woman pulls out her lasso in Congress. Everyone scatters in panic.  
Flash, crackling with electricity, unbuckles a child in a crashing light plane. He walks down the wing to where it touches the water, and runs across it.  
A man on a motorbike watches Wayne Manor being rebuilt, then rides off.  
A building is being constructed where the Kryptonian ship had been. Plans show the iconic silhouette of the Hall of Justice.  
Batman, crouching atop a building, watches the construction. He stands to join the rest of the League behind him.

LOIS (V/O)  
When the world first encountered Superman, we were terrified to find out that we were not alone. But once we knew the alien we found he was a man. He gave us his service, and he gave me his heart, and he showed the world that he was willing to die to protect us.  
Others stand with him now, people who can do wonderous things. Greatest of all their power is the strength to use it for others. It doesn’t mean the world is safe, but now we know that a united humanity can achieve the impossible, and the Justice League will always be there to catch us when we fall.  
We face the future now without fear, because we are not alone.  


END.  



End file.
